Place Mat Chair Rail

A quick, easy and functional wall treatment

By Lisa Price, HGTV.com
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The clock was ticking on a Friday night. I was hosting a get-together the following afternoon and needed a fast solution to cover dents and dings in my kitchen wall made by chairs. With no time to match paint and patch the wall, I came up with this quick fix using place mats and a staple gun.

It's easy to do—just start by selecting a stack of place mats to match your decor. I used bamboo mats with black accents purchased from Pier 1. The mats cost about $2.50 each and I used seven for the rail, so my investment was under $20. Once the measuring and design decisions were finished, I had an awesome, contemporary chair rail in about 15 minutes.

Materials:

place mats – number varies on wall and mat length
measuring tape
thin-lead mechanical pencil with eraser
push pins
staple gun and staples
1-1/2-inch wide grosgrain ribbon and double-sided adhesive – optional

Steps:

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Figure A
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Figure B
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Figure C

  1. Determine how you want to place the mats on the wall. For instance, you could place them end-to-end (figure A), side-by-side (figure B), or mix it up, turning every other one so they line up side-to-end as shown here (figure C). A sketch is helpful in making this decision.
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Figure D
  • Measure the length of the wall and, based on how you're planning to position the mats, determine how many mats you'll need to go across the wall. If the combined length of the mats falls short of dividing evenly into the wall measurement, plan to begin and end the chair rail with equal spaces. If desired, you can embellish theses spaces with a length of ribbon as seen in figure D.

  • Using an thin-lead mechanical pencil, lightly mark a straight line on the wall where you want the top of the chair rail.
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    Figure E
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    Figure F
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    Figure G
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    Figure H
  • Using the penciled line as a guide, position the mats on the wall, tacking them up temporarily with push pins (figure E).

    If opting to mix the orientation of the mats, you may need to draw a second line to help position the second placement or use a measuring tape to help set the mats evenly (figure F).

    Continue until all the mats are on the wall, snugging the edges of the mats tightly together (figure G).

  • Once the mats are in place, center a length of ribbon in the spaces at the ends of the rail if desired, using double-sided tape to hold it place.

  • Use a staple gun to attach mats to the wall (figure H). I used four staples in each mat and placed them where they were most camouflaged by mat design.

  • Erase any visible pencil marks.